more weir stories or should I say WAR?
larrynj1 said:
max, how about telling us some of the other stories about him?
On Jan-30-05 at 02:21:31 PST, seller added the following information:
The following post(s)/comments were taken from cueauctios forum. Read & believe what ever part(s) you wish. THESE ARE POSTS...NOT INFO THAT I AM SWEARING TO.
"Rumor has it in the south east part of the country, that Bob Weir did make a few cues in the late 1970's-early 80's. But the federal government banned him from making any more cues due to failure to pay federal taxes on the cues he sold. So he went to work part-time for other highly respected cue makers (I heard he did some work for Bill Schick for awhile). I own half a dozen of Bobs cues I've acquired over the past 15 years, and I'm keeping what I have, and have strongly refused to sell any of them!
"What do I know about Weir. He made about 50 cues or so. No more than 100 cues total. Cues were made in the early 80s. He made cues and never reported his income. So the IRS bashed the door in. In his plea bargain he had to pay back taxes (after all IRS always gets their's) and would serve no jail time (he was old at the time-don't know if he is living or not now) so long as he doesn't make anymore cues. So he stopped making cues. Sold all of the equipment to pay taxes."
1983 to 1984 or 85 I know because Bob was, (haven't seen him in years)a good friend of mine. He first showed his cues at a tournament at a place called Red's in 1983. I flew out to Huston to play in the tournament and Bob was there showing the cues. He was somewhat of a fake in that he never made anything. Nothing wrong with that, except he was not honest about it at the time. I know he did not do the cue thing for very long. He also owned a pool room in Ashville, I believe he bought from Wade Crane. Bob was the black sheep in a jet set type of family. Big Bucks.
To the best of my knowledge, Robert Weir never made a cue. He had cues, made in Japan by Adams, embossed with his logo and sold them as if he was the cuemaker. I just ran across one of his brochures in an old file the other day and got a chuckle.
I believe you have a cue made by fantasy cuemaker Robert Weir. The cues were really made by Adam in Japan. Another bit of subterfuge by Dick Helmstetter.
Robert Weir was/is a real person and a cuemaker apprentice of sorts who had a line of cues made by Helmstetter/Adams for him with his logo and no other. The details are sketchy on whether Bob Weir claimed to actually have made the cues or not. I bought one a long time ago with the impression that he had actually made the cue. During the course of research and the ensuing verbal battle waged I learned more details including the fact that Helmstetter was the maker. That said there was nothing inferior about the cue I had. I wish that I had kept it in retrospect because these cues are relatively rare and they are representative of what has become a fairly common practice. Apparently it was quite a scandal when it was "discovered" that Bob Weir was not the actual maker of the cues.
Weir cues were a private label made by Adams/Helmstetter in the 80s. Decent cues - sort of collectible. Apparently Bob Weir passed them off as his own work. If you want the full story you would need to contact Richard Black. Bob Weir worked for him for a while. Richard may or may not be inclined to go into it.
John was also "right on" about the pedigree. Adams/Helmstetter made them as a private label and Robert Weir passed them off as his own creations. Was sort of a scandal when it came to light!
Dick Helmstetter / Adams Cues has a long history of attaching "famous" names to a line of mass-produced low-end cues: The "Robert Weir" line - this was the most deceptive attempt, because Robert Weir really did exist. He was a pool player in Texas. But he didn't build the cues. The brochure claimed that he had been making cues for twenty years, though the brand was actually new, with NO mention of Japan as the real country of origin. The Texas address was a postal box; the cues were built in Japan and shipped to Texas for distribution. There was also a well-known American cuemaker involved in the scheme; his shop was to be used for service and repair work (name withheld to protect the guilty). This episode in cuemaking history actually became somewhat of a scandal within the 'inner circle' of cuemakers. Thomas Wayne
A dealer at "MOTHERS BILLIARD PARLOR" named Gene, in Charlotte, NC sold Bob Weir cues nearly 20 years ago. He told me long ago there were between 350-400, guessing! I bought a used high-end Weir cue from a guy in 1992 and he showed me the bill of sale from 1984. And I had a guy in Jacksonville, FL. begged me to sell it, and offered me $1,000 for and I sold it, and I wish I hadn't
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On Jan-30-05 at 02:23:02 PST, seller added the following information:
I recently was surfing the net looking for a specific cue maker that made cues during the 60s and 70s . That specific cue maker is Robert Weir . I have owned and played with some of the finest hitting cues ,Joss , Joss West, Richard Black, My friend. Jim Buss, Schon, Bludworth, Roger Allen , Southwest , Tim Sgruggs. All these cues play very well. In my opinion, nothing compares to a Robert weir . So much I wanted this cue that I paid a hefty price to pry it out of the owners hands. Now that cue resides with me . The balance, feel, and all out playability of this cue is simply amazing. I saw the picture of the Robert Weir on your website and I am amazed . I am willing to buy any Robert Weir that you or your customer is willing to sale.
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On Jan-30-05 at 02:26:47 PST, seller added the following information:
Dear max06,
Max,although unheard of then as is nowdays that in RUSH big money orders to get the supplies to put a cue together fast to contact other makers and get the parts.As Wier and Gus had contact,I would not put it past them to have in some instances gotten supplies from one another in a rush big money assembly.As makers do nowdays but do not talk about it.I do know vintage cues as I revolve my life around them.I would personally step back and mail a picture of the points ONLY to Barry and get a reply directly from him on it.Your posting 3rd party info not to say it is incorrect but was most likely obtained with words not pictures. Although Wier cues are very nice and rare I personally have not seen any weir cue ever that contained a forearm with that quality and craftmanship in the splices.Weir cues seem to have a fade at the tip of the splice per the adheasive they used unsparangly. Your honesty may hurt you in this deal. That forearm was not imported. Looks like Gus's work to me.
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On Jan-30-05 at 03:52:43 PST, seller added the following information:
http://www.proficientbilliards.com/cues/GusSzamboti/stitchwork/index.htm
Here's a link to a cue I used to own.
God, I really miss that one.
